Re. Mr Arkebe Ouqbay Mitiku (Metiku)

Disclosure date: 28 November 2013

Reference: FOI2013/130

Request

Please “confirm that former mayor of Addis Ababa Mr Arkebe Ouqbay Mitiku (Metiku) was awarded a PhD at SOAS”.

Response

Normally SOAS would not disclose details of students or former students as this information is personal data protected by the Data Protection Act. However, we have received other enquiries on this subject and the individual concerned has given SOAS permission to provide details of his PhD award. My colleagues in the SOAS Communications team have issued the following statement to journalists who have contacted them which should answer your questions:

"Arkebe Oqubay Metiku was awarded a PhD from SOAS, University of London in October 2013. He successfully completed and defended his PhD on industrial policy in Ethiopia, supervised in the Development Studies Department. The candidate's application to submit his thesis after two years was approved by his academic supervisor and the supervision committee members and it was passed with no corrections. Like many other UK universities, a PhD is usually at least three years in length but candidates can apply to submit after two years of full - time enrolment subject to the approval of the Supervisory Committee and the Associate Dean (Research) of the relevant Faculty. While the majority of candidates studying for a PhD in the UK complete within three years, there are a number of students who complete in a longer or shorter time period."